Ideas for a Company Business Meeting

Project managers use team meetings to track a project's progress.

Business meetings are used to deliver information, brainstorm and delegate tasks. The leader in a meeting brings value to it with his vision and ideas, as well as his planning and preparation. An effective meeting creates organizational teams that move business goals forward and solve institutional challenges.

Agenda and Reports

A basic meeting agenda states its objective, lists and summarizes the roles of participants and outlines meeting topics with time allocations. Circulate meeting agendas before the meeting to give participants time to prepare. Make copies and circulate reports to meeting participants at least a few days before the meeting. Reduce report printing costs by scanning and sending via email attachment.

Attendance

For lengthy meetings with multiple participants, consider scheduling certain attendees during the times on the agenda that require their input. For instance, while an IT employee's presentation may be on an agenda, it may be an inefficient use of time for her to sit through the full meeting.

Leadership

Business meeting leaders set the tone. Start on time. Be flexible, but stay focused on covering all agenda topics. This includes controlling dominating participants. Keep an eye out for nonverbal signals from other participants and ask for their input. Encourage group questions by opening up the meeting to questions at the end of each agenda topic.

Food

According to Sharon M. Lippincott, author of "Meetings: Do's, Don'ts and Donuts," breakfast meetings are more focused than lunch meetings. Lunch-time restaurant crowds can be distracting. Little real business is conducted over dinner, says Lippincott, because people are tired at the end of the day.

For office meetings, include light fare such as donuts, muffins and bagels, fresh cut fruit along with a selection of coffee, tea, sodas and water. If the meeting is during lunch time, have it catered with sandwich-and-sides combinations that include options for the calorie counters and vegetarians.

Equipment

Develop a checklist of all the equipment you'll need and make sure it's delivered before the meeting starts. Provide notepads and pencils for participants. Flip charts are useful for brainstorming. If participants are unfamiliar with each other, provide name tags to encourage team-building.

References

• "Meetings: Do's Don'ts and Donuts"; Sharon M. Lippincott; 1999

Resources

• American Society for Training & Development: Meeting Planning Form